Britain has secured final ratification for an expanded trans-Pacific trade agreement. The British government says its agreement to join the pact will enter into force by mid-December.
Britain was approved as a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP, at a ministerial meeting held in July last year. The eleven signatory countries, including Japan, participated in the meeting.
The British government said on Thursday it has secured the sixth and final ratification needed to trigger the UK’s accession to the pact, and that the agreement will officially enter into force by December 15.
Britain is the first country to join the CPTPP after it took effect in 2018. Its accession widens the pact’s economic sphere to Europe.
After Britain’s exit from the European Union in 2020, the country began seeking economic growth by strengthening ties with countries and regions outside the EU, and positioned joining the CPTPP as one of its pillars.
The UK’s Minister of State for Trade Policy Douglas Alexander said in a comment that it is good news for UK business, and welcomed the move as a member of the Labour Party led-government, which has taken power for the first time in 14 years.
The British government estimates the agreement could boost the UK economy by around 2 billion pounds, or around 2.6 billion dollars, annually in the years to 2040.
Japan is expecting an increase in exports to Britain of such goods as milled rice, whose tariffs will be eliminated.